Chapel of Maraden

A unique vestige of the Priory of Maradenou, the Chapel of Maraden in Martel is today the sanctuary of The Spiral of History by Miklos Bokor, a monumental fresco bearing witness to the memory of the Shoah, the destiny of the Jewish people, and the human tragedies of the 20th century.

Site History & Significance

The Chapel of Maraden, located in the former parish of Saint-Martin de Loupchat and historically associated with the Order of the Hermits of l’Artige, is a modest Romanesque building dating from the late 12th or early 13th century.

Today, the chapel houses The Spiral of History, a monumental fresco by Hungarian-born artist Miklos Bokor. Deported with his family to Auschwitz in 1944 at the age of 17, Bokor was subsequently transferred through several camps before being liberated at Theresienstadt in 1945. He later settled in France and discovered the Chapel of Maraden in 1996.

Between 1998 and 2002, Bokor transformed the chapel into the setting for an extraordinary monumental work depicting the destiny of the Jewish people, from its origins to the unspeakable horror of the Nazi camps. The Spiral of History gives the chapel a unique significance as both a work of art and a place of remembrance.

About the Project

Built of stone and roofed with traditional limestone slabs, the chapel and its exceptional painted decoration are threatened by water infiltration.

The current phase of the project focuses on consolidating the structure and restoring the traditional limestone slab roof in order to ensure the long-term preservation of both the chapel and Miklos Bokor’s monumental work.

The Chapel of Maraden Today

The municipality of Martel and the intermunicipal authority CAUVALDOR are committed to safeguarding both the chapel and the extraordinary work it contains.

Their ambition is to preserve the intimacy and contemplative character of the chapel, maintaining its role as a sanctuary and place of remembrance. Public access to the chapel itself will therefore remain limited to specific occasions, including heritage days, commemorations, and research visits.

At the same time, a projection of Miklos Bokor’s frescoes will be presented at the Musée de la Raymondie in Martel, a designated Musée de France, making the work accessible to a wider public and helping to transmit its powerful testimony and the memory of the Shoah to future generations.